


Nehn

by RoguesCorner



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Dorian is a good uncle okay, F/M, Fluff, Original Character(s), Past Lavellan/Solas, Past Relationship(s), Post-Dragon Age: Inquisition, Pre-Dragon Age: Inquisition - Trespasser DLC, Solas is mentioned, angst later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-06-29 03:23:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19821535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoguesCorner/pseuds/RoguesCorner
Summary: Saving the world is hard, raising a daughter is harder.Short drabbles between Elona Lavellan and her daughter Nehn over the years. May stay unfinished until I get more ideas.





	1. All my Love

**Author's Note:**

> A quick pop in to say 1) this is a bit older! It's in my backlog but i still liked them enough to post! and 2)Nehn was adopted by Elona on a visit to Wycomn. She was orphaned young (Like around 2 years old) and just kinda followed her and the party around so Elona couldn't just LEAVE HER THERE idk figuring out details anyways enjoy some kid fluff.

Hands clasped behind her back, Elona kept to a slow pace down the main hall of Skyhold, Josephine on one side of her, and Ambassador from the Mage’s College on her other. They had been at it for almost two hours now, negotiations, discussions on rulings for the new institution, the mage and Josephine keeping the talks going smoothly together as Elona silently listened, interjecting when necessary. Less than a year since the breach had been sealed, and still, there was work to do.

The doors were ajar at the end of the hall, letting Elona see the faint sunset outside, the day was almost over. She took a deep breath, how long had they been at this? Surely it couldn’t be this hard to decide where to place a second college?

“Inquisitor?”

“Hm?” Elona blinked, focusing back on to what was happening around her. Both women were looking at her, waiting for an answer.

“Where do you believe it should go, now that we have considered all options?”

Elona hesitated, to be truthful she hadn’t thought too much about it, in her mind anywhere would be acceptable, but that wasn’t how politics worked. Every option had to be carefully looked at and examined before a decision was made. Normally, she would enjoy the process, but her thoughts were elsewhere.

“We will try for Ferelden, I will write to the King and Queen with our proposition.”

Josephine smiled, nodding happily with the decision, though the mage looked less thrilled. To their left, the rotunda door creaked open, giggling and squealing coming from inside. Elona bid the two woman farewell, saying she had to attend to something and leaving Josephine to deal with the rest.

Not five steps into the painted room, Elona heard another fit of giggles.

“Mama!”

Getting down onto her knees as her daughter ran towards her curls bouncing before she threw herself into Elona’s arms.

“Still full of energy aren’t we Nehn?” She said, picking the little girl up and carrying her back into the room. “What's so exciting in here?”

“Uncle Dorian was makin’ sparkles,” Nehn said, her small fingers wrapping around Elona’s braid and slip into the strands, the girl was fascinated with everything Elona noted.

“Was he now?” Elona asked, looking at Dorian, who was sitting on the old couch that was still in the room, his legs crossed and arms spread out along the back.

“Just a bit of fun,” He said with a chuckle. “Had to get her away from Bull and Varric, the stories were getting a little too rowdy, to say the least.”

Elona shook her head slightly, leaning back after to get a better look at Nehn. “Was Varric telling you stories all day?”

“He calls me Sprout- But I’m almost taller than ‘im,” She said in a matter of fact way, causing Elona to laugh. Pulling Nehn’s fingers out of her hair, Elona put her back down on the ground.

“Maybe it’s time for Mum to tell you a story?”

The little girl's eyes widened and a toothy grin spread on her face. Glancing from Elona to Dorian, she shook her head.

“Let’s go back to our room and I’ll think of one” Elona continued, flattening down her curls, and then the girl was gone, running to the door laughing and yelling about a race. She yelled after her, telling her to slow down but Nehn didn’t hear. Once she had left the room, Elona let out a breath, getting Dorian to chuckle again.

“She’s a handful.”

“Thank you so much for watching her, I know this wasn’t what you envisioned when you said you were coming to visit,” Elona said.

“It wasn’t a problem, anything for my good friend- Anyways; I do enjoy being called ‘Uncle Dorian’”

That got Elona to laugh.

“Now!” He exclaimed, clapping his hands together and standing up. “I’d better go see what has become of my things; Andraste knows something has been moved.”

“Goodnight to you to Dorian.” She replied with a smile and leaving the Rotunda. Passing through the main hall was strange now; it wasn’t as busy as it uses to be,

Chantry Mothers and refugees filling the room's wall to wall. A part of her missed the chatter, the constant presence of other people, but another part was thankful for the peace and quiet.

When she got up to her room, Nehn was already sitting under the blankets of Elona’s bed, an old red scarf Elona had (Now claimed as Nehn’s blankie) pulled over her head. From the way she had it on; Elona could only see her big brown eyes and the tips of her pointed ears.

Taking off her boots and gloves, Elona scooted in next to her, smiling and crossing her legs. “So- story. What do you wish to hear? A ball? A fight with an evil man? The dream world?”

Nehn hesitated, squirming a little bit, pouting her lips. Elona furrowed her brow with concern, watching her daughter. “Da’fen, what’s wrong?”

She looked down at her hands, still wrapped at the edges of the red scarf and scrunched her nose. “Um…” She stopped again, before shaking her head and taking a deep breath.

“Bull was tellin’ me stories of you an’ your friends back when Cory...ephy?” She stopped, looking at Elona as if to ask how to pronounce it.

“Corypheus.” Elona corrected.

“Yeah ‘i'm. Back when he was still bein’ bad. He was telling me that you all did fun and crazy things, and how there were nine of you- Not with Lady Josie or Miss Leliana or Ser Cullen-” She added quickly “Just the ones who went and did the fightin’- but I was confused cause I didn’t think there were nine.” ’  
Elona nodded, listening though she could feel a tight lump in her throat. She ignored it.

“So I asked him if he meant eight. I didn’t my countin’- I’m gettin’ good at it! I counted Sera, and Bull, Varric and Uncle Dorian, and Cole, Mr. Rainier and Lady Cassie and even Miss. Vivienne even though she ain’t here no more- and I knew it was eight.”  
Elona swept a strand of hair out of her face as she told the story. “What did Bull say?”

“He didn't say nothing- Varric stopped ‘im, he said ‘It’s a story better fit for your mother to tell you.” She said, doing a very poor Varric expression and getting Elona to smile.

“Was there nine? Did I do my countin’ wrong?”  
Elona shook her head, leaning back on the headboard. “No Nehn, you counted correctly” The girl smiled “Though at one point we did have nine, he was another mage, but he left after we defeated Corypheus.”

“Was he the one who painted all the pretty pictures? Cole mentioned him I think, what was his name?”  
Of course, Cole had mentioned him Elona thought for a moment, holding back a sigh.

“His name was Solas, and yes did paint them; he spent lots of time on those.” Elona paused for a moment, letting her mind slip back to when she used to sneak down after dealing with the War Council, reading her book on his couch as he worked. She had spent so much time watching him use a paintbrush like a staff, it always amazing her how he created so much life with only colours.

“Was he your friend too?” Nehn asked, lying down on her stomach.

“Yes, he was.”

“If he was your friend, why did he leave?”

The question took Elona of guard. Glancing out the balcony, her expression softened. How long had it been since she had taken the time to try and answer that question? Part of her had forgotten and buried it away in the back of her head. With everything flooding back, she could only answer truthfully.

“I don’t know” She caught a glance at Nehn’s concerned expression “But grown-ups do silly things.”  
Nehn watched her for a moment, those observant eyes studying her face. Elona knew the child wasn’t a naive as she made seem.

“Did you love him?

Elona glanced and Nehn, a sad smile slipping onto her lips. “You could say that.”

Nehn huffed, sitting back up. “Then number nine was a silly man.”

Elona laughed, the tightness in her chest drifting away. “But with him gone, that means you get all my love.”  
Leaning forward, Elona wrapped her arms around the girl’s shoulders, kissing the top of her head as Nehn squirmed and giggled, trying to escape her mother's grasp.

“Mum! Stop!” She squealed, leaping off the bed and running to the couch to get away from her mother. Elona laughed as the girl wrapped the scarf around her shoulders and neck, wearing it almost as the previous owner had, and Elona couldn’t help but see her old friend in her daughter for just a moment. The spell was broken when Nehn yelled “I bet you can’t catch me!” and started racing for the stairs.

Elona eyes widened, as well as her smile. Leaping off the bed, she forgot about her shoes and ran after Nehn, cursing in elven quietly and calling her name.


	2. Just Politics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She brought her into a war zone. Why couldn’t this have been just politics?

“Mum, where are we going again?”

Elona looked down and Nehn, sitting comfortably in front of her on the saddle. She barely had her eyes open, fighting off sleep from the late night and gentle sway of the horse. They had been travelling for hours, it was a shock that she hadn’t already drifted off.

“You remember Varric and I talking about Orlais?”

She nodded “Is that where Lady Lily was born?” 

“Yes, it was, and we are going to visit her.” 

Nehn’s eyes brightened at the mention of the old spymaster, and she sat up, twisting to see her mother. “Really?” 

“But remember, we can’t call her Leliana in public anymore she’s-”

“Divine Victoria ‘aight I remember.” Nehn leaned back against Elona, muttering “Still think it’s a stupid name.” 

With a chuckle, Elona let a smile fall on her face before the two went quiet. It had been a while since Elona had seen or spoken to Leliana, to most of her old friends in fact. When the letter had arrived, addressed to herself, Josephine and Cullen asking for an audience she hadn’t been expecting for the old members of her inner circle to receive ones as well. When Sera had shown back up at Skyhold, waving the letter around furiously and Varric wrote a very lengthy reply to her previous letter asking about the council, a sinking feeling had started to settle in her gut. 

They had been fighting off the political consequences the war with Corypheus had carried from both sides. Orlais would never be pleased, she knew that much, but the hostility from their neighbours in Ferelden had caught her off guard. The King and Queen had been accommodating and pleasant in the past, what had changed? Whatever it was, Elona had a bad feeling about what was to come next. 

“How long are we staying?” Nehn asked, a yawn escaping after her words. 

“Hopefully no longer than a week.”

“A week?” She whined, sliding down. “Why couldn’t I stay home then? What if I don't like the food here?” 

“You mean all the sweets and frilly cakes?” 

Nehn pouted, before letting her arms fall to her sides. “Okay, that migh’ be fine.”

Truth be told, Elona wasn’t sure how long it would take. And Exalted Council was something she hadn’t been prepared for. With each side being as stubborn as a ram, it could range from a week to a month. She glanced down at the girl, who had seated herself back up and was leaning her small head on Elona’s shoulder. It had been safer to take Nehn with her. It would give the girl the chance to see more of Thedas, and it would let Elona keep an eye on her. With every powerful leader in the Inquisition away from its base of operation, and an attack would be simple. There was no way she would leave her daughter behind if that was the case. She would be safer next to her. 

It was only going to be politics anyways, no need to worry she kept reminding herself over and over again, though it wasn’t too reassuring. 

She could feel Nehn’s breathing slowing as she finally fell asleep, and Elona let out a deep sigh. She could only hope that things would go as planned.

__________

Elona had to keep the thoughts from buzzing around in her head as an agent brought her from the Council hall to the body of the fallen Qunari. This wasn’t going how she had hoped. Wringing her hands together and fixing her gloves she traced her thumb over the scar on her hand, the familiar pulsing getting stronger than she remembered. 

“Bring Sir Pavus, Lady Cassandra, Cole and Master Tethras to the upper libraries, I must speak to them immediately.”

The agent nodded, racing off. Elona waited for them to be gone, before taking in a shaky breath and running her hands through her hair. This couldn’t be happening. If the Qunari had gained access to the Winter Palace, if they were trying to attack or start a war-Elona stopped her pacing, staring at the Eluvian.  
She had brought Nehn here, right into a war zone. 

Taking a few steps towards the mirror, Elona traced her fingers over it, the surface rippling and shuttering under her touch. The anchor lit for a moment, before returning to normal. Eluvians, in the past they had been a lifesaver, but now, she was unsure. How had the Qunari been able to pass through?

When she could hear footsteps behind her Elona dropped her hand. 

“Everything alright Freckles?” Varric asked, his brow furrowing when he spotted the blood on the ground and the mirror behind her. 

“We may have had a complication.” She said, glancing at the Eluvian one more time. “A Qunari warrior has been found dead, the trail leads to this Eluvian.” 

"Eluvians in the Winter Palace? Here I thought haircut the Marquis was wearing was the most horrid thing to happen” Dorian said, clicking his tongue after in disapproval. 

“What shall we do now?” Cassandra asked, taking a very cautious step towards the mirror. “We can’t keep the peace talks going smoothly with this threat hanging above the palace.” 

Elona nodded, holding her hands behind her back and moving away from the Eluvian, still watching it as if something or someone would emerge any second. “Josephine can handle the crowd for a time, but we won’t be able to delay the talks. Until then, we have to go through the mirror.” 

“You’re serious?” Varric said, crossing his arms.

“This is too big of a threat to ignore till, after the Exalted Council, it has to be addressed immediately.” 

“I hope this works out alright Freckles.” 

“So do I,” Elona said with a frown. “Varric I need you to do something for me. I need you to watch out for Nehn, keep an eye on her and keep her close. We aren’t sure how serious this is until we know more.” 

Varric nodded, before taking his leave to go find the young elf. Once he had left the room, Elona turned to the other three. 

“Gather your weapons and armour, Cullen can show you where the Inquisition is storing our wares. Meet me back here as soon as possible.” 

Ignoring the three’s quiet chatter as they left to do as she said, Elona turned back to the mirror, clenching her left hand into a fist. Why couldn’t this have been just politics? 


	3. Out of the Mirror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elona comes back from the Eluvian.

Nehn had been peacefully drawing at the foot of Varric’s bed as the dwarf sat across the room, slaving over his next manuscript when the commotion started outside the walls. Nehn’s head had shot up, looking from the pad of paper to the window, her eyes wide. Varric followed her gaze, taking a stand and heading over to the door.

“Don’t worry Sprout, it’s probably just more fireworks.” Nehn nodded, looking back down. She didn’t continue her drawing, only kept staring at the half-finished drawing. Tracing her fingers over the lines she had already drawn, she glanced back up at Varric who had gone to check on Bianca, something she knew he only started to do when worried or anxious.

“Is Mum going to be okay?” She asked, and Varric’s eyes shot up to meet hers.

“Of course.” He said a smile on his face. “Your mothers one of the most badass-”

There was a loud knock at the door and Varric’s attention was pulled away from her. Glancing once more at Nehn he went to answer. Hopping off the bed, Nehn ran over to Varric standing behind him as he opened the door, she was only a tad taller than him anyway. Iron Bull was there, a grim seriousness etch onto his face. Nehn’s eyebrows knit when he looked at the two of them, Bull was always so happy and telling her jokes, what was going on?

“Varric, you need to come with me, something happened.”

“What?” The dwarf hissed, side-eyeing Nehn. Though the girl didn’t fully know what was going on, she knew enough to be worried. If something had happened to her mum, where would she go? “Bull what happened?”

“Let’s just say the Inquisitor had a run-in with an old friend of ours” Varric squinted for a moment “What the hell are you-” When he finally understood Bull’s words, his eyes widened

“Shit.” Turning to Nehn, the dwarf put his hands on her shoulders. “Nehn I need you to stay here. Do you understand? Do not leave this room.”

Nehn nodded, her hands starting to shake ever so slightly. Varric hardly wasted a second after speaking to her, racing across the room, taking Bianca on his hand and strapping the large crossbow to his back. Bull was already carrying his weapon with him and once Varric had his, the two took off down the hall, closing the door to the room tightly.

Closing, but not locking it.

Nehn didn't hesitate, something was wrong, and of her mother was in danger she wasn't waiting behind. Twisting the handle on the heavy door, she grunted pulling it open. It wasn't hard to find her way to where Varric and Iron Bull had gone, the sound of loud chatter and yelling showed her. Down the stairs and around to the main gate of the palace, then across the plaza. A crowd had started to gather, mostly Cullen’s soldiers and those who hadn't gone with her mother through the mirror.

Nehn was small, even for a 5 year old, small enough to push past the men and woman, slipping between their legs and around swords to get to the crowds front. She passed Thom, and the older man looked down at her, confusion then panic flashing across his face. Though before he could call to her or grab her she had slipped past, catching her foot on a soldier's, and falling onto the cold stone floor in the front of the group. Pushing her hair out of her eyes, Nehn looked up, eyes landing on Dorian. He was tapping his fingers on his staff, blood still staining his armour. When Cole’s form broke from the mirror. His eyes landed on Nehn’s, widening from behind his thick blond hair. Dorian’s brows furrowed, before following Cole’s gaze.

“Uncle Dorian, what's happening?” She asked, her voice cracking with worry.

“Nehn, you shouldn't be here,” Dorian said, voice quiet as he tried only to talk to her.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen? Where’s mum?” Not a second passed after she asked the questions,

Cassandra came out of the mirror, an unconscious Elona in the warrior’s arms. Nehn’s body froze, her face was sunken with exhaustion, her chest rising very slowly in shallow breaths, fresh blood still soaking her mother's white armour. Whether it was from the enemy or from Elona, Nehn was too scared to try and figure it out. Then the girl noticed her mother’s left arm, or what was left off it. Like it had been charred away to the elbow, green flakes and ash falling off her burnt armour and skin.

“Mama!” She screamed, voice a shrill and cracking at the end. In two wide strides, Bull was next to her, swooping her tiny body up and throwing her over his shoulder. She started to beat on his back with her fists, though he could hardly feel it.

“Put me down! Put me down!” She continued to scream as he started to leave the room, taking her away from the growing chaos. As he dragged her from the building, Nehn caught another glance at her injured mother, screaming her name again.


End file.
